Yogi Meets Pilates : 3 Week Update of Pilates Challenge

It is now nearly the end of Week 3 of the 1 Month Pilates Detox Challenge at BPS Tensegrity for this yogi and time flies when you are having fun!

 

I do apologise that this update has been delayed for a few days, as I was away last weekend hosting the ‘Revive and Restore Retreat’ with the wonderful Mel from Detox Delivered. We both felt so blessed to bring all our amazing attendees through their journey of restoring and rebalancing themselves after winter. Upon my return it was then my turn to take a day or two to rejuvenate and get back into the swing of things.

 

Now back to the challenge, and keep in mind that from my first blog post at the start of this challenge I had the initial thought of ‘Ugh I hate Pilates!’ The first week  and a half of this challenge requiring  4 pilates classes per week, left my everything sore and feeling quite heavy to be honest.  

 

When we practice yoga we are encouraged to find strength and flexibility at the same time. In pilates the approach is rather on strength and precision which is at the utmost importance. This is to ensure that the correct muscle/s are working at their optimum and that they are focused on completely during the exercise. This approach has increased the awareness and attention I bring to my body even more so recently, and how to really activate my muscle groups to tap into my bodies synergy. I now utilise this technique in my everyday life, anything from when I am massaging clients at Exhale, cooking and even just brushing my teeth, as I am now more aware of engaging through my deep and lower tummy muscle and broadening my thoracic spine to name just a couple. I see and feel all of this in my own yoga practice and how I lead my yoga classes these days.

 

So while my hamstrings, quads, and glutes were beginning to come out of hibernation and say ‘HELLO SEXY’…my head was going, “what the hell is this, who are these muscles and where have they come from?”  During week one and two of this 1 Month Pilates Challenge, each time I came onto my yoga mat, my body felt as if it was laden with sand bags, instead of what I normally know as my free flowing, flexible arms and legs. At one point I even looked at my yoga mat and said, “nope, not happening today, you need to walk!” And as I have mastered over the many years of being a yogi that it is best to go with your gut feeling and intuition as this is your practice and you need to take care of your body. So off I went on a nice long walk instead around my neighbourhood to my favourite hidden spot for a bit of meditation and reflection.  It took approximately 15 minutes for my leg muscles to warm up enough so I no longer felt that I was carrying 80kgs on my back, that instead my legs were once again functional and was only carrying my actual weight.

 

It is incredible that in the few weeks of undertaking this challenge I have reached the realisation that I’ve not only taken my yoga practice for granted, but my body itself. Yoga has become second nature to me after not only practicing, but also teaching yoga for many years. During my yoga practice I can easily check out when I’m on my mat. My body and mind become one. My feet find their own way to Warrior 2, my arms and legs find downward dog on their own with equal weight distributed between all four limbs, a shoulder stand is like going on a vacation…you get the point.

 

With Pilates it is all new and different to my mind and my body. This has now brought  a renewed awareness to every muscle, bone, and ligament in body (mostly because I feel a different sensation now). Each one is talking to me and saying..”PAY ATTENTION, we have a message for you!” There is no checking out at pilates. If I check out suddenly I’m using my chest muscles instead of my quads and glutes, my triceps instead of my hamstrings, etc. Although the yoga philosophy teaches you about being present and mindful, pilates has helped me instill this again on another level and has assisted in introducing this new found state of presence to my yoga practice. My practice has become stronger, even though my physical flexibility is a touch less. The aches and pains in my hips has disappeared, my shoulder and wrists are no longer screaming at me, and it’s only taken 2 and a half weeks to be able to sit down again without wincing at the pain…the good pain though of course.

 

You remember when I said I’m not much of a challenger or a fitness-adrenaline-junkie? Well, I still hold true to this statement, but I do like to see what I am capable of and to progress further. I sent a video to the pilates teachers of this beautifully graceful girl doing a few advanced moves on the reformer, and jokingly said, “so at the end of the 4 weeks will I be able to do this?”  Thanks my one of the lovely BPS Tensegrity teachers, she incorporated a few of the moves at my last session and recorded it (she has a serious love affair with her camera phone, ha ha), I’d like to note that the girl on the video was WAY more graceful! But still in saying this, I do have another 1 and a half weeks to go until this 1 Month Pilates Challenge is completed, so never say never! If you would like to check out my novice pilates moves, click here to watch. 

 

Stay tuned for my final wrap up and insights on this challenge at the end of the month.